Exclusive | Dutch insurer Aegon sees digital distribution as the path to growth in China and rest of Asia
- The insurer is partnering with mobile payment providers MobiKwik in India and Alipay in China, its Asia-Pacific CEO said
- Joint ventures, partnerships driving its growth strategy in the region
Aegon hopes to attract new customers in Asia by tapping into something that is never far from consumers’ eyes and almost always on: their mobile phones, the Dutch insurer’s regional chief executive said.
It is partnering with the likes of mobile payment providers MobiKwik in India and Ant Financial’s Alipay in China to reach new customers in the world’s fastest developing region for the insurance industry. Ant Financial is an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, the parent company of the South China Morning Post.
“The strategy in India, for example, and more broadly in the region is around distributing through e-commerce partners and relationships. It’s digital, it’s a more direct distribution for consumer-type products, non high-net worth products,” said Aegon’s Asia-Pacific CEO Andrew Byrne. “It’s about being where customers already transact.”
Aegon, based in The Netherlands, has operated a global insurance business since 1844 and acquired TransAmerica in 1999, giving it a strong presence in the high-net worth business in Asia.
High-net worth remains the company’s largest business in Asia.
